My Heart Journey — A Second Chance at Life On 29 September 2025 (world heart…

My Heart Journey — A Second Chance at Life

On 29 September 2025 (world heart day), my life changed with words I never expected to hear: there was a problem with my heart valve.

Eventually, I was told that I needed open-heart surgery.

I was scared. I had never imagined myself going through something like this. There were so many questions in my mind, but somewhere inside me, I knew I had to find the courage to face it.

On 4 February 2026, I went into theatre for my first open-heart surgery.

The operation lasted about eight hours.

When I woke up in ICU, I knew I had survived something huge. I spent three days there before beginning the difficult process of recovery. Slowly, I started sitting up, walking and doing the little things that we normally take for granted.

On 13 February 2026, I was finally discharged. Going home felt like a victory. I thought the hardest part was behind me.

But only a few days later, on the night of 17 February 2026, I fainted.

Suddenly, the journey I thought was ending was beginning all over again.

Complications followed, and eventually I had to face another heart valve surgery. Going back into theatre after everything I had already endured was one of the hardest moments of my life.

The second time felt different. I knew what surgery meant. I knew the ICU, the pain, the tubes, the weakness and the long road waiting on the other side.

But I also knew something else.

**I wanted to live.**

So I went through it again.

Today, when I look at my scar, I don’t just see surgery. I see the days I was afraid. I see the people who stood beside me. I see the doctors and nurses who fought for me. I see every painful step I took during recovery.

Most importantly, I see life.

My heart journey taught me that recovery is not only physical. There are emotional wounds that people cannot see. You have to learn to trust your body again. You celebrate things that once seemed ordinary; waking up, walking without help, sleeping comfortably, laughing with the people you love and simply experiencing another day.

To anyone who has just been diagnosed with a heart condition or is preparing for heart surgery: **being afraid does not mean you are weak.**

Take the journey one day at a time.

There may be moments when progress feels painfully slow. There may be setbacks you never expected. But never underestimate the significance of one more step, one more morning and one more heartbeat.

I have been given another opportunity to live, and I don’t take that for granted.

My scar will always be part of me.

But it doesn’t only remind me of what happened to my heart.

**It reminds me that I survived. ❤️**